It might not work out, but it’s clear the Lakers intend to make serious runs at free agents-to-be LeBron James, right, and Paul George this summer. They will have the salary-cap space to make it work. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

LOS ANGELES — Officially, the Lakers on Thursday traded two key bench players for a two-time former All-Star, a sharp-shooting veteran forward and a first-round draft pick.

What the Lakers gained in the hours before Thursday’s trade deadline was far more valuable than Isaiah Thomas, more desperately needed than Channing Frye’s range, more prized than a draft pick.

It was Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. for two superstars to be named later.

“This,” Magic Johnson said, “is what I came here to do.”

You don’t build a runway unless you believe planes will land on it, you don’t open a restaurant unless you think people will dine there and you certainly don’t clear $70 million in salary cap space unless you think NBA stars will take your money.

The Lakers have the space, they just need to find the superstars willing to occupy it.

Thomas and Frye are both on deals that will expire at season’s end, which, depending on what the Lakers decide to do with an energized Julius Randle, leaves enough space for two maximum-contract free agents, either this summer or next.

“This was an essential step for us to get a playoff team and a championship-caliber team back to the Lakers,” General Manager Rob Pelinka said, “which is the sole goal that Earvin and I have working together.”

As painful as it was for the Lakers to say goodbye to Nance and Clarkson, two players they identified as talents and plucked out of the draft with late picks, the Lakers are only partially basing their future on homegrown talent.

The organization is committed to rebuilding quickly, and the fastest way to do that is by bringing in ready-made stars elsewhere. In another time, another place, that might have included Thomas, who finished fifth in MVP voting last year and ascended to face-of-the-franchise status in Boston with a career year with the Celtics.

He arrives without a defined role. Coach Luke Walton said he and Thomas exchanged voice mails on Thursday. When they connect, perhaps Walton’s advice to his newest player should be this: Rent, don’t buy.

Because that’s exactly what the Lakers are doing.

By ensuring cap flexibility for the coming summer, the Lakers brass threw water on the notion that they were giving up on the summer of 2018. Taking on another team’s bad contract that runs through next season – say, Denver’s Kenneth Faried – and a draft pick would have signaled that they believe chasing members of the upcoming free agent class would be futile.

Instead, they did the opposite.

“It is not either 2019 or 2018,” Pelinka said. “It could be one in each year if we wanted it to be, two in ’18 (or) two in ’19 or just sticking with our young core and growing these guys. We will have many things to look at and we will make those decisions when they come.”

The Lakers stressed they will not buy out the contract of Thomas, who will come in expecting to start despite the presence of No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

It could make for an awkward fit over the final two months of the season, although Walton stressed that he believes Thomas, who appeared in just 15 games with the Cavs after being swapped for Kyrie Irving in August, will adapt to the Lakers’ system.

“He’s a great player,” Walton said. “He’s still coming back from injuries. I think the more time he’s on the court and playing his game, he will continue to get better. He’s obviously proven he’s been an All-Star in this league before. He can shoot the ball. He knows how to win. Excited to get him in here.”

But not as excited as the Lakers are to get him out of here, so they can spend their money on the players they hope to move forward with, be it LeBron James, Paul George or any number of members of the highly regarded class of 2019 (which will include Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler).

The true impact of this deal will not be felt for months or years, but in the meantime, Johnson and Pelinka delivered on their promise to create a hospitable environment for star free agents.

Bill Oram covers the Los Angeles Lakers for the Southern California News Group. He covered the Utah Jazz for the Salt Lake Tribune. He is the (usually) bearded guy in the background wearing a University of Montana hat.

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